


The Games We Play

by littleLuciernaga



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Modern Era, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:38:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24960181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleLuciernaga/pseuds/littleLuciernaga
Summary: Years later, life has continued.But what happens when the biggest 'what-if' of Yugi's life has finally found the time and space to manifest into reality?Will he be able to make good out of it?(Post dsod, more tags, characters and relationships to be added as the fic goes on)
Relationships: (more will be added) - Relationship, Atem/Mutou Yuugi
Comments: 27
Kudos: 54





	1. Two Truths and a Lie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [guyfierimpreg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/guyfierimpreg/gifts).



“Mutou-san?”

Yugi is so distracted he somehow manages to miss the sound of his own name in the quietest room imaginable. The looming cloudy weather outside the window pulls at his attention far better than anything happening around him, already troubling his plans for the way home with the realization that he has no umbrella for what looks like an unexpected rainy night.

Yugi’s therapist, a short-haired lady well into her thirties, shifts in her seat away and in front of his, clearing her throat subtly enough to chide him without embarrassing him too much. A startled Yugi finally gets back into the chat, cheeks pink despite the woman’s best efforts to spare him some shame.

“Uh--Sorry!” He yelps, and then chuckles nervously. “Sorry, the weather didn’t look like a problem on the way here and it suddenly got so bad through the session. I was wondering how jammed the train stations would get by the time I get out of here...”

“That’s alright.” The woman’s smile is polite. “You don’t get to see the sky a lot from your office, do you?”

“I do, but I haven’t been there lately…” Yugi starts, grinning slightly at the chance to talk about his work. “I’ve been really busy with our latest project, so I’ve hardly left the testing labs the past two weeks. Time flies when you’re down there because of all the last-minute bugs and little imperfections that show up on actual performance, and besides the walls being sound-proof there’s nothing but screens all around us.”

“No wonder…” The therapist glances down at her tablet for notes. “It’s the same project you were telling me about last time? The one Kaiba Corp is releasing this summer?”

“That’s right.”

“You seem proud of it.”

He lights up considerably at a chance to gush.

“I--I am, actually! It feels really good to be part of a team that’s known for being so...well, _good._ I like working with all that talented people, and what we’re doing always feels new and different. It’s amazing to be making games most people can always expect good quality from.”

“And your hobbies? How’s that coming along?”

And just like that, he’s shoved back into his usual meekness; Yugi’s enthusiasm is steadily replaced by an awkward laugh that fills in the very noticeable pause.

“My job is...kind of my current hobby, honestly. I like it that much.”

The therapist hums. Though subtle, Yugi can hear a hint of doubt in it, and it makes him feel a little too self-conscious for words to describe.

“Well...It’s good that you do, but we’ve touched on this previously,” She slides her finger across her screen, swiping left for past entries in Yugi’s previous sessions—or so he can guess, at least. “Interests unrelated to your income are a must for you. You can’t let your life revolve around work, remember?”

Oh, he does.

But instead of saying so, Yugi looks down at his shoes, embarrassed. This makes the therapist move along the conversation herself.

“The first step towards bettering your situation was to keep yourself busy, but now that we’re finally there with this dream job we need some balance so you don’t end up overworking or stressing yourself further, no matter how much you currently like it.” She looks up from her notes. “Maybe afterwork activities with your office peers could come in here, or some sort of weekly workshop to spark new interests…?”

“Um...I haven’t looked into it much.” Yugi tells her, lying through his teeth. “I haven’t really had the time to.”

“It’s important that you try to consciously make the time.” She tells him, “You can start out simple. Maybe 15 minutes per day to look at alternatives?”

The idea seems a little hopeless from the get-go, but Yugi still nods.

“I’ll give it a try.” He promises. This gets his therapist to smile encouragingly, and she quickly jolts it down on her notes-- something Yugi secretly finds a little pressuring. Or a lot. If this wasn’t ressolved by the next session, he’d definitely feel bad about it, like it was some sort of unfinished homework he’d failed to turn in. 

...Ugh.

With that, the woman looks up from her notes with a smile.

“Alright, that’s a wrap for today.” She says. “How are you feeling right now?”

“Already? Well...I’m okay right now, I guess.” Yugi shrugs. “Nothing particularly bad’s going on, so that’s probably good.”

“That’s very good to know, but I still think we’re at a point where we can start aiming a little bit higher than “probably good”—-starting with the search of new hobbies.” She tells him, now getting up from her seat. She strides towards Yugi to offer a handshake. “Will we see each other next month, same time as usual?”

 _'Please, no.’_ Is Yugi’s immediate thought, already dreading the new session despite not having even walked out of the current one. But instead of saying so, he shakes her hand with a practiced smile. It just comes off way too easily to even try to do anything differently.

“Sure, I’ll make my appointment on the way out. Thanks for today.”

And so he does; same time as usual, one month from now. 

Yugi Mutou is a person of routine, after all. 

Just as he was before his life turned around--but we don’t talk about that.

We don’t even _think_ about it.

\--

The road home is as gloomy as the window from the therapist’s office promised; the packed train is warm enough that it doesn’t matter much that Yugi wasn’t prepared for rain, thankfully, but the walk to the game shop is another story altogether. It’s a good thing it’s just a couple blocks from the station. 

While this could’ve been a cartoonishly bad day on the surface between the rainy weather and the depressingly stale therapy session, Yugi has enough willpower and optimism to at least try to fight it off with some good old friendship. On his train ride and even on the way home, he texts Anzu to ask for updates in her newest work drama; he has no business expecting a quick reply with the enormous time difference between them, but Anzu somehow manages to deliver most of the time. 

( It’s usually during weekends or when it’s about the pettier matters, Yugi has noticed.)

  
  
  


Yugi smiles slightly at his screen. Despite the american mannerisms that have peppered into Anzu’s texting, he can hear her voice in his head clear as day-- offended and perhaps a little too exasperated and passionate over someone else’s problem. She’s as meddlesome as ever, which tended not to be too fun when he was the one with the problem and on the end of her fussing, but he’s recently found it pretty fun to listen to her takes on the messy love lives and habits of the other chorus girls and coworkers in her most recent shows.

Anzu’s rants make for a very entertaining way home until he’s about a block away from the game shop, the sky now a dark gray and the persistent raindrops dampening his hair and clothes gradually. It’s all becoming heavy enough to promise a downpour, and a distracted Yugi barely turns his head up for most of his walk, weary of the exact places he knows he’ll find a crosswalk or traffic lights.

Despite his best efforts, he’s aware that even the engaging chat with Anzu can’t do much to cover what a bore of a day he’s about to finish through. 

All of that makes his arrival to the shop all the more surprising, when, out of the blue, a voice pulls his attention away from the phone screen and the jingling keys he’s instinctively already half-pulled out of his pocket.

“Yugi?”

He freezes as if on command. 

The only way he can tell time for sure that this call of his name hasn’t stopped time himself are the raindrops falling over his suspended keys one right after the other.

No matter how thoroughly he’d been working on erasing it from his memory and most of what it has meant to him all across the years, he knows this voice.

Or rather--he _knew_ this voice. He knew it so well that his body reacts on impulse to it, against his better judgement; his eyes widen and his ears perk for the first time in a very, very long while.

And the familiar voice speaks again, not allowing the proper time for shock and after a very long and incredulous pause on Yugi’s side.

“...Yugi.”

This time, Yugi’s eyes widen at a tone that sounds not only confirming, but… fond. Relieved, even.

Yugi dares to glance over his shoulder—just a peek, he tells himself, because the curiosity is downright killing him. He’s turning his head so slowly it’s like he’s been dared to look up directly to the shining sun and there’s nothing he can do about it but delay it as much as possible. 

The voice, as it turns out, wasn’t merely a trick the rain played on Yugi’s ears after a tiring day out.

His phone slips right out of his hands and falls straight into the wet pavement, screen-first. The big crack that forms on impact would’ve been cause for instant discomfort any other day, but there’s nothing that can distress him more than the sight he’s caught:

What he stares at— _who_ he stares at, is none other than himself.

But, as he was used to seeing on mirrors and the reflective surfaces of whatever dueling platform or building so long ago, not _quite_ himself. 

This time it’s not only the sharp features telling him this isn’t himself staring back; now there’s the less familiar brown skin to go by, along with the fuller lips and a complexion that’s just the slightest, tiniest bit taller, and eyes that, though tinted crimson, are far kinder than their harshness would suggest on first sight— this is now someone else entirely. Someone he’d told himself he’d never see again, much less in the flesh and in front of the game shop. 

Yugi’s different self only stares, enveloped in ancient gold that glistens even in the gray of the rain, and his mouth hangs half-open in speechless joy. His face stretches and scrunches in an array of mixed and misplaced emotions before he can will himself to talk once more.

“Yugi,” He repeats, in that voice that could be so much more imposing but softened so much in Yugi’s presence, just like he remembered, “I’m--”

The end of the sentence terrifies Yugi so much he doesn’t dare to stay in place to listen.

_‘I’m back’?_

_‘I’m never going to disappear from your life’?_

Either hurt enough for Yugi to decide he wasn’t in the mood to hear it--not after he’d worked so hard to keep himself free from this grasp and _still_ get this sort of cruel prank played on him every now and then. So all at once, he turns his back on this ghost, the most real he’s encountered yet, unlocks the door with a harsh shove of his keys and allows himself home in jerky and almost desperate moves. 

The door slams on he-who-cannot-be-named-because-it-will-make-him-too-real-to-stand, and once inside the shop, Yugi’s entire body shakes so hard he can’t will himself to run upstairs and calm down as planned approximately moments ago--so he feels himself crumbling, his back uselessly hitting against the door and sliding down all the way to the floor.

The rush of panic and his immediate sobbing should be enough to drown out the rain, his forgotten phone buzzing with new notifications and the distressed calls of the mirage on the other side of the door, but he unfortunately hears all too well. 

So he covers his ears and closes his eyes tight, damning his rotten luck, his poor timing and especially his heart that refused so badly to heal.

If he tried hard enough, maybe the illusion would go away on its own as it usually did.


	2. Would You Rather-?

“...Pharaoh.”

Atem is so busy daydreaming he misses the call, as he so often began to do. Mana and Mahaad, each hanging at his sides and just a little behind him, exchange a look that has become normal between them at this point-- the ‘ _he’s not quite here again_.' 

It’s Mana’s turn to snap him out of it; she goes with a gentle shoulder pat, her voice soft and melodious. 

“Hey~ your highness?”

The added formality does the trick, and Atem starts back to reality. He pouts at his friends the moment he lets the title really sink in.

“I’ve told you two I don’t like you calling me that.”

The reproach only makes Mahaad look to the side and Mana waves him off easily.

“Sorry, we know! But it’s really the only way to get that thick head of yours out of the sky nowadays, you see.”

“Ah-” Atem blinks at them, “Did I do it again?”

“Yep!”

“Oh. I see... I didn’t realize.” He scratches his neck, embarrassed. “Again, I suppose. I'm sorry.”

Mahaad is the one to walk forward now, his face a tad more serious than usual.

“...This keeps happening.” He tells Atem, now reaching for his shoulder. “Forgive me for being stubborn, but I really must insist--if something ails you, know that we are here for you. Not only as your servants, but as your comrades.” 

“I’d... prefer if you didn’t dwell on the servant role,” Atem replies, an uncomfortable smile quickly turning small. He gently brushes Mahaad’s hand off him. “But really, I know as much. And believe me, I’m very grateful for everything around me. Nothing ails me.”

The way he says it, though firm, is no longer ringing as true as the first dozen times he said it. The magicians exchange another wordless look of worry as their king excuses himself to turn and keeps walking away; the exquisite lotus gardens they’ve strolled for a while blur and fade into the pharaoh’s old and pristine throne room, one of his most visited memories in the afterlife. For all that he complained about being treated above the rest, he seemed fond of this particular place that held so much status and royalty to it. There’s not a lot he can rule, supervise or defend in a place of eternal rest, but the entirety of the old court has learnt it comforts their king to have somewhere to think of the time he was able to do as much. 

Or rather...somewhere just for him. A place he doesn’t have to try too hard to belong to.

Mana sighs as she watches him go, speaking up mostly for herself.

“I’m so worried about him…”

“There is nothing we can do if he says nothing ails him.” Mahaad offers, though he doesn’t sound quite as convinced himself. His apprentice pouts up at him.

“Master, you couldn’t be more dense if you tried!” She half-shouts, annoyed. “This is the same pharaoh who’d hide sickness and injuries to avoid skipping duties with his father, remember?”

“I do.”

“Well--It doesn’t look like it!” She exclaims. “You’re the smart one here, help me figure out what’s wrong with our friend!”

“Mana, please calm yourself down.” Mahaad patiently tells her, his face serene, though the slightest bit troubled. “Even if we knew what troubled him, we cannot force our will on him.”

“So something _does_ trouble him!”

“Obviously.” Now he’s the one to sigh, though he’s quick about it; like he can’t be caught feeling anything other than composed for too long. “Our duty is to be there to answer when he decides he wants to call us.”

Though she seems a little exasperated to be bothered to do so, Mana actually takes a deep breath. Once she has a bit to herself, she looks up with a far more serious expression.

“I get what you mean, okay...that’s certainly the case if we’re just his servants, sure. We wait to see what he needs and only that.” Mana tells him, calmer but just as determined--if not moreso. Her clear eyes seem a little fiery with conviction. “But that’s not it if we’re his friends, you know?”

For a moment, Mahaad opens his mouth to argue back, but it hangs. He just blinks at his apprentice, unable to come up with a comeback--even if he had one, he doesn’t seem to feel as strongly about it as what she’s just said so simply. Mana’s grin is cheeky, recognizing her victory, and it only makes her Master laugh quietly in disbelief. 

“...Fair point.” He tells her, a little more resigned. “Though I think the issue at hand is him accepting and understanding how he’s acting unnaturally.”

“Yeah, I think that’s just it... So how can we help out with that?”

Mahaad thinks for a moment.

“...We may need help.”

\---

Sleep isn’t necessary in paradise, but after both a regular lifetime and a ghostly one, Atem’s current instincts usually went for whatever felt the most normal and human to make up for his parasitic existence in modern Japan; a want for fresh meals and water within whatever each day could amount to in a timeless dreamscape, rest, warmth and human company.

He’s been getting all of it and more than he can think to ask from the afterlife’s endless resources, of course, but what he guesses have been years since his late arrival to his promised land have recently felt far longer than he’d first noticed; he used not to be so aware every waking minute of nothing but peace and effortless comfort, but a lot of his time was now spent counting down the things he can’t really remember well enough to recreate in the seemingly perfect reality he now inhabits.

His mind wanders and has the most trouble grasping, horrifyingly enough, his most recent lifetime and those second-hand experiences he could only feel through his host’s senses. Exciting duels with harmless holographic monsters, the rush and sportsmanship of each new challenge, all the unique people behind their decks and duel disks, the strange clothes and sights of the modern world, the new and old friends...

It’s taken long to notice, but even the straightforward Atem, so used only to the things he can see and hear upfront, knows he’s finally starting to long for more than eternal rest. And to make matters worse, Mana and Mahaad have not been the first to tell him of his daydreams and lethargy, even if they’ve been the most persistent about it. Every court member and old king around him has noticed by now, he’s sure, and though he has no real sense of shame, the thought of being ungrateful for literal paradise makes him feel something very close to it. 

A melancholic pharaoh considers as much, his back sinking against the soft and endless reeds, fingers interlaced lazily at the back of his head and his crimson eyes cast towards the vast blue sky. 

How could he be like this? Fighting so long for this end and then just...growing tired of it? 

Or rather, how is it that there’s still even _more_ he longs for?

Atem closes his eyes tightly, and a shadow shortly comes over him. He sighs.

“I promise I’m well, Mana.” He says, without bothering to look. “Or Mahaad.”

The chuckle he hears belongs to neither of them. He opens his eyes to find a familiar and old face staring down.

“Mister Mu--”

His old vizier tilts his head, and Atem stops himself as he sits up to properly greet his company; he had this problem with Set, Isis and Shada as well, but it was always worse with Shimon, whose face had been the most familiar to him through another name.

... _Right._ There was no Sugoroku Mutou here. 

“...Shimon,” He says, instead. “I’m sorry. I remembered someone else just now.”

The old man takes no offence at all; he, in fact, only laughs a little harder before sitting down next to the young king.

“That’s quite alright! We older folk are always happy to be remembered at all. I’m sure you were thinking of a very handsome fellow.”

Atem snorts. This is definitely something Sugoroku would’ve said as well.

“I guess.” He hums. “If I had gotten the chance to age, I would’ve liked to be that lively.”

“It has its perks.” Shimon tells him, nodding along. “Especially in such a place. None of the pain in my bones followed me here...I’d say I even miss it a little, but I’ve gotten used too used to the niceties to think like that!”

Though Atem wants to laugh along, only a little smile makes it out. 

“I wish I could say the same.”

“Mm?”

“I mean--” Atem shakes his head, forcing himself to chuckle. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

“So I’ve heard.” Shimon says, his expression a tad more serious, yet friendly as ever. “I keep hearing stories of your wellness from all of our peers, Pharaoh.”

The sarcasm in the vizier’s tone says it all-- _ugh_ , not him as well. Atem closes his eyes again and childishly sprawls back down, as if that may chase the confrontation again.

“Whatever they’ve told you, I assure you they’re exaggerating.” He stubbornly says. “Everyone just worries too much.”

“That may be true, actually.” Shimon retorts, without losing a beat. “But you forget most of us have spent more time by your side than even your own father.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning we may know you better than you think.”

Atem has no real comeback for something as true, but he still groans lightly. This only makes Shimon laugh before continuing. 

“So...do you even know what it is yet?”

A moment passes before Atem pries one eye open.

“Maybe.”

The one word is all Shimon needs to adjust his face to rest on his hand, patient and expectant for elaboration. Atem can only curl to his side and stay there for a few moments, unsure what to say exactly. 

“I think…” He starts, finally, “I may want more of the world I last left behind. The one I shared with…”

A name is at the tip of his tongue, but he dares not say it, as if it were some sort of spell keeping him together and blurring a face with kind violet eyes into a small corner inside his head. It’s obvious enough for Shimon to effortlessly recognize, though, and he nods along to help him continue. Atem exhales lightly.

“It may be just that, so it really isn’t a big deal.” He says, as if trying to convince not only Shimon, but himself as well. “I could be missing life, but don’t we all?”

“Not really.”

His breath catches; Shimon hadn’t been the one to answer this time around. He sits up once more and blinks incredulously at the figures sitting around him as well.

There’s the expected presence of Mana and Mahad sitting down with Shimon, as one would expect, but they’re also joined by the familiar faces of Set, Karim, Shada and Isis. 

But it doesn’t end there, still. Even the stern Akhenamkhanen is standing proud and tall among them, his grouchier twin standing close behind him. Their sudden appearance startles Atem enough to get him to stand as well, his eyes wide.

“Everyone--” He says, looking at his friends and companions in stupefied surprise. His eyes dart, especially, towards the old king who is directly in front of him now. “Father…”

There’s a collective chuckle at that, like it’s so silly he still gets so surprised at the motion that people care about him. Even Akhenamkhanen’s lip turns the slightest bit upward, hands behind his back. He’d been the one to answer Atem’s question, and he closes his eyes to keep on replying.

“You are the only one among us who misses life, son of mine.” He says, authority somehow still dripping over words of gentle wisdom. “Your body was buried in the valley of kings years ago, but it is clear your heart still resides elsewhere.”

Atem looks down; he can almost feel his face heat up in embarrassment. He can’t even think to deny this when it comes directly from his father and oldest king.

“I—I am sorry to be so ungrateful, father.”

“It is natural you are dissatisfied,” Isis is the one to speak up now, her fingers ghosting over the place her necklace had been for most of her life. Her face is serene. “Your time with the living was so very different from what all of us had, my king. Your life was essentially split into two--across time and space, too. It makes sense a regular afterlife fails to let your soul really rest.”

“You must know that we all agree with this.” Shada adds, his head tilting down in the slightest of bows. “And we understand how hard it must’ve been for you to end up both the youngest and oldest soul among us.”

Atem listens, his face hard in disbelief and partial disappointment at himself for letting his thoughts and conflict get this transparent. How could it be that the people around him are being so understanding to what could only be some sort of tantrum of his younger soul?

He looks, almost in vain, for a different disposition among his people. The only person who seemed to have more of an appropriate reaction to Atem’s thoughts was Aknadin, who stands cross-armed and silent behind Akhenamkhanen, his eyes off in the distance.

But much to Atem’s dismay, even if he does find Atem to be ungrateful and undeserving of the riches of paradise in the way his face reflects judgement, he says nothing, allowing the court to reassure the pharaoh in ways he would've surely resented while alive.

So was this his way of showing support as well?

Since nobody continues, though, now Set sees a chance to also speak his mind.

“Pharaoh, I assure you nobody begrudges you.” He says, looking right through Atem’s insecurity and pointing it outright in ways only he’s able to. “We’ve all known for some time that you were going to have a different experience here. It’s just manifesting, and we’ve all finally talked about it and decided not to skirt around it anymore.”

“It was honestly not our best choice to keep quiet for so long.” Karim admits, looking down. “As your court and as your companions, we shouldn’t have allowed your real thoughts to go unnoticed this long.”

“And most importantly!” Mana pipes up, her eyes glassy and her hands interlaced in earnest pleading. “We are so sorry it’s taken us this long to talk about it…”

She turns to look at Mahaad, who’s been silent for all of this. When the priest says nothing more, Mana takes it upon herself to frown accusingly. He sighs at this, clearly struggling not only to finally make eye contact with Atem, but to finally speak as well.

“...What she said.”

The bluntness of it all makes Mana pout harder, but Atem actually grins for the first time in a while. High Priest Mahaad is eloquent and outspoken when it comes to his duties, but when it comes to being a regular man, this is the best he could do. He was being his realest self right now, and Atem was thankfully in tune enough to recognize as much.

With that, though, everybody has spoken their piece. Expectant eyes fall on Atem now to either accept or deny their words of support, and the Pharaoh can only fumble at first, his hands nervously hanging in the air.

“I—“ Atem finally says, struggling to speak back to the overwhelming responses. “You’re all so kind, but I can’t just…”

Nobody interrupts, and he knows he must confirm what everybody already knew. He takes a deep breath.

“I’m too fortunate to have you all here with me, but there is nothing that can be done to calm my saddened heart.” He says, already feeling a weight off his chest by just admitting to his unhappiness. “You’re all right. I’m troubled, I’m restless, I’m thoughtful, I’m—I’m _resentful_ I didn’t live as you all once did. But like I just said… it’s not like anything can be done about it. I’m the one who should be sorry to make you all worry so needlessly.”

That should be the end of it—because really, what _can_ be done? Death is death. His journey in the world of the living—both of them—everything he gave up in that last ceremony… all for this, the point of no return.

Except it isn’t.

The pleasant breeze that eternally sways the reeds comes to a soft stop. Every person that surrounds Atem is now on their feet, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging for something that seems to have appeared behind the Pharaoh. This makes him turn as well, and the moment he does to find what has surprised everybody as much, his face mirrors his court’s identical expressions:

It was a door.

But not any door— a familiar golden eye front and center of the rocky frame, heavy as it is imposing. It is the last door he’d taken in his own tomb; the one that should’ve collapsed when he went through. The beginning of his end, right before him.

“It can’t be…” Atem says, just loud enough for Shimon to hear. The old vizier had been the first to compose himself enough to stand with the pharaoh, though his eyes were also still as wide as plates.

“...It’s the very same one!” The old man confirms, his hands shaking as he points. “Like when you finally arrived here with us…”

“Master,” Mana urges, her arms now hooked around one of Mahaad’s. “What’s going on? How is this possible?”

More than one expectant head turns in Mahaad’s direction, Atem’s included. The priest is at such a loss of words that, for once, he seems nervous. It’s a brief moment, though, for the answers seem to come to him a lot more naturally than one would imagine.

“I think…” He finally starts, locking eyes with Atem. “This might be retribution.”

The Pharaoh only stares, and Mahaad presses on.

“The Gods are just, above all. The rewards we get in the afterlife are comparable to the weight of our hearts and our goodness in the world of the living.”

“Meaning…?” Mana tries, but her eyes find instead Akhenamkhanen, who walks towards his son with firm steps until he stops, also by his side. Shimon even steps back to let him properly talk.

“Meaning that Osiris might be willing to let this afterlife be properly earned.”

Something in the way the old king says this makes Atem’s chest swell up with many different emotions--most prominently, there’s the swell of confusion at the entire situation, but with it comes the excitement, the disbelief and the dread all at once.

A proper life in the modern world awaits beyond the doors mere steps away. 

But at the same time…

Atem turns to see his court for what feels eerily like the last time, and the repressed memories of this very same scenario rush right in. The faces everyone made back at him were a little too alike those glad, resigned and heartbroken expressions he’d last seen on Egypt on Anzu, Jonouchi, Honda and--

He closes his eyes, feeling close to the grief he hadn’t allowed himself back then. 

“Everyone, I…”

Before he can finish, he finds himself in a position he thinks he’d probably never been; or at least one he can’t really remember.

In his father’s embrace.

And then Shimon’s, right behind him.

As for those who do not embrace, he feels heavy and reassuring hands touching his back or his shoulder, if only for slight brushes. It’s a gesture that is affectionate and respectful at once, and Atem can see, if briefly, whose hands linger the most and makes sure to note himself to remember.

He’s sure he’s felt something like this before, but only second-hand. A circle of friends and loved ones was a familiar sight for his last host, but one for himself, sending him off and so approvingly…. 

This time he can’t help but to smile; not the confident smirk he’d left life with, but a true expression of relief. 

He allows himself to be held and shake hands affectionately with everyone until his eyes fall on Set--one who wasn't much for either. So he walks towards him, an earnest hand over the place in his chest where the millennium puzzle once hanged over; the one link between them, stronger even than their shared blood.

“I really hope you don’t mind me leaving everyone to your excellent care once more.”

Set's hard eyes soften the slightest, as he'd probably expected not to be handed any sort of task from him ever again. He takes off his headpiece to regard his cousin in his most natural state, his long brown hair falling down his ears. 

“...It would be my honor.”

Even the serious Aknadin finally relaxes his expression at such a thoughtful final gesture, his face loose with relief; once again, Atem had managed to take him and his son into account.

This would probably be the last in his items before leaving, but Atem has unconsciously left the heaviest for last; they stand still and away from everyone else.

Mana and Mahaad have been the first two people he'd loved most, and their faces reflected that mutual feeling, mixed in with pride towards their friend and the unspoken grief of yet another separation. Atem lets them come to him at their own pace, his own eyes wrinkled in sadness.

"You two..." He starts, quietly. “How can I even begin to say goodbye to you both?”

Mana nearly doesn’t let him finish his question, throwing herself at him to cling in the way she’d grown so used to for nearly all of her life.

“You don’t have to!” She exclaims, her voice shaky with tears. “Because we’ll see you again, you hear me?!”

Her hysterics sound more like a threat than a reassurance, and Atem can’t find it in him to be anything more than endeared, holding her tightly.

“I hear you. I’ll definitely be back some day.”

“Hopefully not soon.” Mahaad says, making Mana slowly back off to allow him and Atem their moment. Atem needs to strain his neck to stare up at his closest friend and protege-- like he always, always had. It comes to mind how Mahaad never stopped being so tall regardless of all his childhood promises of how it would be just a matter of time before they’d see eye to eye.

And it is in this moment that Atem notices that Mahaad isn’t staring down with the respect he’d received from most of the court, but with the kind of unspoken adoration only he could provide. Above all, he is showing one of those incredibly rare and small smiles, just for him.

“...Please take care, my--.” He says, and shakes his head to correct himself. "-- _Atem_."

It is a short message, but Atem perfectly understands the weight and impact of it; especially in the name.

So he nods, and when Mahaad offers his hand for one last shake, Atem doesn’t waste a moment to ignore it and embrace him tightly instead.

Such a forward show of affection would have probably been scandalous in any other time, but the young Pharaoh can’t bring himself to care right now. Not when he’s got so little time left with the people he loved, and how his time as a king was about to be exchanged for that of a regular young man. 

Thankfully, Mahaad had only been taken aback for a moment, and his stiffness had quickly melted in favor of holding Atem just as tightly, arms wrapped protectively around his shoulders. Their embrace lasts a bit long, and Mahaad is the one to step back first, his little smile still intact. Mana clings to her master's arm once more, seeing Atem off with puffy eyes and a big grin. The image is so comforting Atem also tries to burn it into his eyes, his shoulders hard with the weight of the moment. He doesn't even notice the small tears at the corners of his own eyes.

“...I’ll see you both in the cards, I suppose.” 

“Always.” Mahaad simply says, to which Mana only nods along- she’d probably start crying again if she tried speaking again.

Looking at those he’s leaving behind, Atem sees no unfinished business. While he’s eager to finally be on his way, the ache of his heart returns to burn twice as harsh. The moment of truth couldn’t be closer--so impatient as ever, he finally gives his back and walks towards the closed door. Isis speaks out for the last time.

“You know what to do, my king.”

Atem nods without turning. He feels the same way he did when he last did this, his eyes fixed into a hard frown and his hands rolled into tight fists at his sides and then one clutching the tag hanging over his neck. It glows the moment he touches the metal, along with the intimidating eye of Wadjet that frames the door.

_This is it._

The eye glows, waiting, and he speaks up like he once did.

“ **My name is Atem!** ”

When the door slowly opens and bathes the young king in light, the breeze returns to the Field of Reeds; first in the overwhelming gust that comes from the world of the living, and then in the gentle wind that remains, ghosting over the flowers, the kings and the court watching him go.

\--

The next time Atem opens his eyes to the busy streets of Domino City, he becomes aware of two things. 

One; he’s somehow made it--not only to the modern world, but the very city he needed to return to.

Two; he must, at any cost, find the one thing he’s been longing to see the most--the one he can finally admit to.

Yugi.


	3. Hide and Seek

_Wake up, Yugi._

“Yugi!”

_This is all a dream! It must be!_

“Yugi, please! Are you still there?!”

 _He’s_ **_dead!_ ** _The last time you saw him was for world-ending reasons and he couldn’t even talk to you! He shouldn’t be here at all!_

“Yugi…!!”

Panic overtakes Yugi somehow even harder than before. He isn’t able to move, but he can at least try to chase the bad thoughts away.

“Go away!” He finally cries out, yelling as hard as his lungs will allow him. “You’re not real!”

“Yugi, please--”

“I can’t do this again,” Yugi says, his anger quickly shifting into hurt. “Please, I’ve done so much to get my life somewhere normal...”

For one short moment, rain is everything Yugi hears on the other side of the door. He almost feels like he’s really gone and hurt someone with his pleading, but the relief of silence is currently too strong to fight back. But it doesn’t last long, as the conversation somehow moves along.

“...What do you mean ‘again’?” The familiar voice asks him, his approach different. The desperation is still there, but tamer and worried. Yugi almost wants to laugh at the sentimentality of it all, and how badly he must be feeling if he needs to work through all of this out-loud again.

It would honestly be easier to try and leave to his room now, but he was probably due a reality check somewhere around this time. It’s been a while since he ever talked to anybody about these specific problems.

“I mean…” He starts, subdued. He shrugs to himself. “This whole cycle. Being scared you’d be gone, glad you’d be resting, sad you weren’t here anymore, guilty I couldn’t just be happy for you, convincing myself it was for best, questioning how to live a life alone, anxious to see how bad I was at it, seeing you again for good measure, and then---back to square one.”

Once again, he’s met with silence. It’s almost as if the mirage could take it all in, rendering this conversation the most real and the one he’s had the most of a say with… pretty much anyone in the past few months. It could even be nice if he weren't talking with himself, really.

But because this isn’t a nice or healthy situation, Yugi hears the voice again.

“I thought I was needed.” It says, almost sheepish. “Last time we saw each other.”

...Oh, _that_ time?

Yugi shrinks to himself when he recalls the events of Diva’s arrival to Domino. It had been such a sudden throwback to his old high school routine that it had felt almost like a week-long dream; a world in peril, friends and family back to near-death experiences in the blink of an eye, world-ending duels… it was alarming how used he was to such situations back then in contrast to how scary it is to just think about it now. He’d defenitely lost his touch somewhere along the way. 

“I think you were.” Yugi reasons. “I tried so hard for it not to be the case, to just take care of it on my own, but...you really were needed. We’d all be dead if you hadn’t turned up.”

“No, you’d all be dead if _you_ hadn’t done all the work beforehand. I just drew the last card.”

That makes Yugi laugh humorlessly.

“Kind of the opposite of how we used to do things, huh?”

There’s no laugh on the other end of the door.

“...I didn’t do all the work.” 

“You kind of did.”

“We were a team. I thought you knew as much.”

That makes Yugi frown. He _does_ know as much, he believed it with his whole heart, but thinking of it only makes everything hurt all the more, like he couldn’t be whole if he wasn’t part of this team at all. This entire conversation already stings him with every passing moment, and the reality of it is starting to become harder to deny and ignore. 

“...Yugi,” The voice suddenly says, much more composed than before. “Aibou.”

That--

Why say _that_ , of all things?

There was no way his mind could torture him _this_ badly and after such a long time, right?

Not only for the name itself, but the way it was spoken--the way it’s _always_ spoken, so softly yet carrying so much weight. In two syllables, Yugi’s initial horror and anger is dissolving into a terribly familiar heartbreak, violet eyes tearing up in ways he thought he was done with.

“W-What,” Yugi stammers, trying his best to hide the sadness in his voice. “What are you doing here in the first place, anyway? I know you’re not really here. You’re _dead._ You’ve been dead for so long, even back when you were here, yet…”

Yet he keeps on circling between acceptance and sadness, life goes on at the same time that it stops, he keeps on finding reasons to hope even as he’s given up…

But there’s nothing he can choose out of any of that, so it all remains unsaid. Yugi hears an exhale as the sound of rain starts quieting down the slightest.

“You’re right.” The voice admits, sounding as if it’s trying to convince not only Yugi of its intentions, but itself. “I wasn’t alive for most of our time together.”

“So--”

“So I’m not done--” It interrupts Yugi, almost desperate once more. “I’m alive right now. Right this moment. If you’d only let me show you…”

Somewhere in his heart, Yugi finds it harder and harder to keep fighting off hope upon hearing such a promising offer. But because he’s as stubborn as he’s ever been hopeful, he gets to doubt just a bit more, holding on to his arms for dear life. His expression falters, but he’s able not to let his guard down just yet.

“Okay, but what happens if I open the door and there’s nobody there?” He asks, his voice as steady as he can manage to keep it within the turmoil lumping away in his throat. “I don’t think I’ll be able to take it if all of this is just me being lonely and delusional again. I’m serious.”

It should probably be at least a little embarrassing to admit to such alarming things out-loud, but if there happened to be anything on the other side of the door other than the last bit of Yugi’s sanity, he wanted to be crystal clear about the gravity of it all. He doesn’t get an answer for one scary moment, but he then hears a small sound of acknowledgement.

“If you don’t believe any of what you see, I’ll let you be.” The voice finally promises, somehow firm despite such finality. “You won’t hear of me again. I don’t want you to be hurt anymore, and less by my own hand.”

If anybody else spoke of such a wager so easily, Yugi wouldn’t have believed their intentions or he would’ve found them not to be taking him seriously at all.

But as it always was when it comes to this voice, he knows the confidence is never make-believe. It’s always a little too real, and it always comes from somewhere that just...makes things happen. He’s never known if it’s some sort of magic or plain willpower, but whatever it is, it’s way too specific for it to be something he’s imagining.

So Yugi decides to not waste a moment more.

He finally gets up, and though he trembles as if he was a meek teenager again, he slowly, slowly opens the door with a quiet but long creak. 

The first thing one would notice is probably how the rain is still there, slow but persistent. And despite the fact that Yugi can now hear the sound of his chiming phone clear as day and the notifications that must’ve tripled since he first dropped it, everything falls into deaf ears. It lays on the floor screen-first, forgotten and currently ignored to favor the person standing beside it. 

The face he stares at is still the same he’d thought he’d seen before getting into the shop in such a hurry, but the relief in the crimson eyes reflecting him is no longer as accounted for as he’d first figured it was. Something about the expression he now gawks at is a lot more cautious--if not downright afraid--, and the golden colors of jewelry and light, beautiful cotton clothes are tainted by dampness of the unexpected downpour.

Most importantly, with all of this overwhelming amount of proof, Yugi can’t find an excuse not to give a name to the young man in front of him anymore. Even if this is only a vivid memory coming back to haunt him one last time or a product of his sad and tired imagination, his former soulmate is far too present to keep denying and ignoring his presence any longer.

Atem opens his mouth after a long, long moment of silence, so dumb-founded he’s actually been given a chance to make things better it feels almost a reach to have thought he’d sounded so sure of himself from the other side of the closed door.

“I…” He finally says, awkwardly raising his hand to give Yugi a hesitant little wave, his mouth twisted in a way that tells he’s trying his hardest not to smile but betraying him in little twitches. If Yugi didn’t know any better, he’d say his stronger, better half was about to cry right there. Atem takes a deep breath and composes himself enough to allow himself to actually grin, the expression sincere and right at home in his sharp and familiar features. If he had only one shot at getting it right, he was going to make the most of it.

“I’m home.”

Yugi’s glasses fog up almost instantaneously at the words, and he knows right away it’s not from the rain. 

There’s no fighting back the pain in his chest now, so intense it feels like it’s filling up and overflowing all at once. He opens the door wide, his knuckles white and shaky from how hard he’s holding on to the handle. It’s his turn to speak now, to finally confirm what he’d always thought so impossible.

“W-Welcome home--”

And because even saying so for the first time to a human being besides his grandfather _still_ feels too surreal, Yugi throws caution to the wind and does the one thing he couldn’t do with his memories, dreams and delusions:

He runs once more, but this time he runs forward and into Atem’s chest, where he’s met by unmistakable solidity and confirmation of what he’s been dreading and wishing for so long. He holds on so tightly to the cold and damp body he’s cruelly kept out in the rain it’s like he’s trying to break it, and he begins to cry so hard it’s like he’s a newborn just ripped from the comfort of the womb, coming kicking and screaming into the world. 

In a way, that sort of _is_ the case, and Atem is wordless through it all, falling to his knees so they both end up on the floor, allowing him to let it all out.

The time to really talk would come later. 

For the first time in...ever, really, they have time to spare for that. 


	4. Twenty questions

With all the initial crying, shock and incredulity out of the way, a single thought occupies Yugi’s head as he waits for Atem to come back from the shower in the partial comfort of his bedroom:

What the ever-loving _fuck_ is going on?

When you’re faced with the rare opportunity to interact with a deceased loved one, logic isn’t really the first thing to come to mind with all the things left unsaid and the overwhelming feelings filling you up in the spot. Turns out, as Yugi has just learned, that there’s no room for anything other than questions now that he’s one of few--if not the only person in the world--lucky enough to actually get to keep the person around after what could only be explained as some of the magical Egyptian nonsense that was such a common part of his teen years.

...This is going to be hard to get used to again. 

He’d normally fight for the chance to shower first, especially since he’d also gotten soaked in the cold rain and his eyes still sting from all the embarrassing bawling, but all he can do is stare at his phone with the completely busted protector as his leg bounces, restless anxiety easily overtaking him without anywhere to go. What is he going to tell Anzu? She thankfully gave up with the calls and messages a while ago to get back to her rehearsals, but had made a very serious note to get back to her as soon as possible. Should he tell her at all, what with her being all the way out in America where she can’t confirm anything anyway? And if he tells her, what about Jonouchi and Honda, should they know as well--? Or maybe Bakura? Bakura has a thing with ghosts, if he remembered correctly, so maybe--

“Yugi?”

Yugi yelps so loud he startles both himself and Atem, who steps back with raised hands, indicating he means no harm. He’s wearing some of Yugi’s over-sized pajamas and a small towel hangs over his shoulders as his own drenched clothes sit in the washroom, waiting for a time Yugi is calm and focused enough to look up how to treat priceless Egyptian cotton in an old washing machine; if not for the alarming nature of this encounter, Yugi would’ve probably laughed at how off his cuter video game-themed t-shirts looked on Atem’s toned body, but right now all he can muster is a nervous chuckle, his eyes wide and alert.

“Sorry!” He starts, “I was kind of...lost in my head for a bit. Did you have any trouble with the water?”

“Not really.” Atem tells him, cautiously stepping into Yugi’s room to join him inside, but keeping respectful distance by remaining standing. “You went over it well enough.”

“Oh. That’s good to know!”

“Yeah—no trouble at all.”

“I’m glad!”

“Thank you again.”

“No problem!”

With that exchange over comes the quiet, so awkward Yugi can’t help but look down at his shoes, his leg still bouncing away to his surprise and only stepping until he actually forces himself to. 

Talking to Atem was never this hard, was it? And even if it was, the quiet moments could always be effortlessly spent in their own individual head-space if need be-- but it’s not like he can just march down to the shop and stay there all night. And it’s not like he wants to, anyway, his fingers laced together in a stiff attempt at doing anything with his hands. 

Yugi glances at his peculiar guest, taking a moment to ready himself for an actual conversation.

“Okay, so…” He starts, making Atem look fairly relieved not to be the one to initiate the interaction. “I’ll cut to the chase. I have way too many questions.”

“Alright—” Atem says, almost too quickly. “As do I.”

“Maybe we can take turns to ask?” Yugi offers, “One you and one me, sounds fair?”

Atem takes the question as a cue to finally sit across Yugi on his bed, cross-armed and hanging a leg across the other. His face is almost comically serious for what should be a simple agreement, and his nod is firm.

“Fair.” He says, tilting his head towards Yugi. “You first.”

And just like that, Yugi forgets every single question he had--or at least that’s what it feels like, being put in the spot like this. He hums as he goes over all he’s wondered in the past hour from mortality to the logistics of a dueling Egyptian pharaoh afterlife, and he settles after a bit. 

“So...why are you here?” He asks, far less accusatory than what he’d been like with the shop’s entrance door between them. “Last time we saw each other was kind of...not the most relaxing situation. Is the world in danger? Are you here to fix something?”

There was no point in asking about the ‘how’ just yet if the ‘why’ ended up being another temporary stay. If it was, Yugi could at least get ready for his goodbyes beforehand, as he’d never been able to properly go over them. To his surprise, though, Atem smiles slightly at him.

“Not this time around, no.” He says, shortly and confidently. Yugi waits for him to elaborate and blinks at him in perplexed silence when he doesn’t add anything else.

“That’s...it?” He asks, incredulous. “No millennium items excavated and on the loose?”

“No, they’re all gone.”

“No reincarnations of anyone from your time who’d want you or the world to burn?”

“Not as far as I know.”

“Uh--Is there anyone you need me to duel, then? For some other unfinished rite of passage, or--”

“ _Yu_ _gi._ ” Atem cuts him off, his tone bordering on annoyance. “Can we just agree that my presence is no longer the cause or product of some sort of catastrophe and move on with our lives?”

“Right, okay,” Yugi says, his cheeks reddening. “I’m sorry, it’s just...always been because of this. It’s hard to imagine you’re just here to hang out without some sort of repercussion.”

For a moment, Atem quiets down before simply nodding.

“That’s the most accurate way you could put it, actually.”

“...You’re kidding.”

“Well--'hang out' is a little casual, yeah.” Atem clarifies. “It would be more appropriate to say I’m here to live the rest of my life.” 

“That... doesn’t explain anything at all either.” 

Atem shrugs, impatient to move on.

“I couldn’t be more clear if I wanted, so I’ll just go ahead and ask things now. You’ve asked plenty more than your one question, anyway.”

“Hang on--ugh, you’re right.” Yugi sighs. There’s not a lot he can say to help his case despite feeling like he hasn’t actually learned anything so far, so he simply crosses his arms, readying himself to go through the kind of embarrassing revelations he usually saved for therapy. He gestures for Atem to go ahead with a tilt of his head.

“Okay.” Unlike Yugi, Atem actually seems to know exactly where he wants to start, his posture firm and his eyes locked into Yugi’s, his interest strong and evident. “I have an understanding that time has worked differently for us since my...departure.” He says, the last word being his only slightly uncertain one. “As such, I'm really out of the loop right now...so tell me, how long has it been since we saw each other?”

Thankfully, not a hard question to start with. Just unexpected enough to get Yugi a bit off-guard; the years had been somehow a drag and a blur at once, enough for him to hesitate about the actual count for a moment.

“Um…” He finally mumbles, looking up to think. “I was graduating high school, so I was turning eighteen that June…? And I’m about to turn twenty-six, so--”

“ _What?_ ”

Unappreciative of Atem’s sudden scandalized tone, Yugi squints.

“What.” He says, almost coldly so. Atem raises his hands in alarmed defense.

“You just--! I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be dismissive, but you just still look so--”

“Yeah, not my age at all.” Yugi interrupts, rolling his eyes. “Baby-faced, young--whatever you’re thinking about I’ve gotten it before. Especially since a lot of people got to know _you_ better than me, you wouldn’t imagine how many comments I keep getting about how different I am up-close than they remember.”

The small bitterness in his tone is definitely not intentional, but it rings clear enough even for Yugi to recognize right away how crude his words sound out loud. So it’s no wonder to find Atem seeming hurt at them; Yugi bows his head as soon as he notices, ashamed.

“...Sorry, I know you had no control over any of that.” He mumbles, sheepish. “It’s just been a weird couple of years.”

Atem makes himself nod, though he doesn’t seem too reassured by the words. He seems a little guiltier, in fact, but he attempts to fight it by offering a small smile and Yugi figures it must be for the best to drop the issue for the time being.

“That’s alright.” Atem says, and sort of laughs to himself. “Honestly, though, I was mostly wondering about the time since your eyesight seems to have suddenly gotten worse.”

“Oh--” Yugi’s cheeks color up once more, and laughter comes to him as well, weirdly and easily enough. He touches the thin frames of his glasses on instinct, raising them slightly over his nose to see between his real and blurry eyesight and the crystal-clear correction of his lenses. They’re such a regular part of his everyday life it’s hard to think anyone could see them as a novelty.

“Then I think I lashed out for no reason...” Yugi says, a bit awkward. “But yeah, I’m pretty blind right now. I think it was all the late-night studying from when I was younger.”

“And the deck-building and board games, am I right?” Atem offers, grinning. “I knew they’d take a toll on you sooner or later, didn’t I always tell you?”

“But you didn’t really try too hard to stop me after telling me to quit just once!” Yugi is smiling now despite the offense he takes in Atem’s gloating. “In fact, you _encouraged_ my bad gaming habits most of the time, didn’t you?”

“Nobody can say I didn’t try, and that’s what counts.”

“You clearly didn’t try hard enough!” Yugi goes, now reaching to shove Atem. For the first time as he lays awake, it doesn’t faze through him, and though It’s clear he’s no real match for Atem’s slightly bigger build, the mock roughhousing gets through no problem, mainly on account of Atem’s good nature and his eagerness to play along whatever’s in front of him at any given moment. 

The way Yugi falls back into comfort when he stops thinking is so seamless it’s almost scary. He doesn’t quite notice he’s let his guard so low until the shoving has gotten more playful and closer, and Atem has found way to restrain both of his wrists in the air; Yugi stops laughing for a moment to finally register how strong and real Atem’s hold is, and a wave of self-consciousness overcomes him so suddenly he sort of wants to run away from the room in the spot, but at the same time--

“Yugi? Are you home?”

Yugi pulls back so fast it’s as if his hands were being burned. Thankfully, the sound of the voice coming from outside the room is surprising enough that Atem is also reacting to it, his eyes wide with familiarity. He turns to Yugi, puzzled.

“Wait, was that--?” 

Though Yugi is still composing himself and trying to separate reality from sudden and embarrassing thoughts, he manages to give him a shaky smile.

“Oh-- yeah.” He nods. “I didn’t tell you because I figured you’d eventually ask, but...I’m not alone in here. Grandpa is still around, since he doesn’t want to give up the game shop and there’s no way I could run it alone on my schedule…”

“But if it’s been so many years--”

Yugi snorts.

“He’s healthy, don’t worry.” He grins. “ _Too_ healthy, almost. He keeps complaining about how this year is going to be his last, but he’s been doing it for the past five years. Not to mention he loves going overseas with Mr. Hopkins and keeps trying to find excuses for me to join him whenever he decides he wants to go off on his own.”

Any humor Atem could’ve taken in Sugoroku’s misadventures is overtaken with amazement, and perhaps even a bit of respect for the old man. Yugi can’t help but find it a little endearing, his smile widening as he hears his grandfather’s steps coming into the room. He gets up at this, right away motioning for Atem to stay still.

“Hold on for a bit.” Yugi says, “I’ll go say hi to grandpa.”

Atem nods along.

“Of course--I’ll stay right here. You don’t even have to tell him I’m around if you don’t find it necessary.”

It’s a little hard to know what’s necessary at the moment, but Yugi still nods as well, secretly glad to have a reason to step out of the room for a bit. 

As soon as he’s out for a breather, back pressed to his bedroom’s door, Sugoroku steps out to him from the staircase. Though his appearance is clearly worn-out to any stranger’s view, his energy is anything but; the old man comes at Yugi with an easy smile and a little wave.

“Yugi!” He says, excited. “Were you talking to someone just now?”

Oh--right. That’s definitely something to be overjoyed about, considering Yugi’s current non-existent social life. And Atem’s presence at home is definitely something he needs to prepare his grandfather for--who knows how far apart he actually might be from cardiac arrest regardless of his ongoing liveliness. 

Yugi crosses his arms, now unsure what to do with himself for the time being.

“Um...yeah, actually.” He finally says, a bit shaky. “We have a guest over.”

Sugoroku’s eyes shine, the relief for his grandson’s well-being clear as day.

“That’s amazing! He beams, “Wasn’t Jonouchi helping judge this new tournament in the city, though?”

Yugi laughs nervously. 

“It’s...not Jonouchi-kun.” 

“Oh?” Sugoroku blinks. “Is Anzu-chan visiting?”

“Not her either...”

“Well, don’t keep an old man in suspense!” Sugoroku laughs, attempting to side-step Yugi to enter the bedroom as well, which Yugi can thankfully move along to. “Don’t tell me there’s a new friend in there--? Oho, did you finally find yourself a cute girlfriend you’re embarrassed to introduce your grandfather to?”

“Wha--of course not, don’t say embarrassing stuff like that!”

“Then why won’t you let me say hi, boy!”

“Grandpa--” Despite his restless energy and Yugi’s embarrassment making him sloppier, Yugi manages to step down to grab his grandfather’s shoulders. His eyes and tone turn stern, and the moment successfully turns a little more serious. “--Listen. I actually need you to get ready before you come in, okay? I need to explain something.”

“Huh?” Sugoroku’s eyes go wide, his expression almost childlike with curiosity. “Well, what could it be that you’re being so secretive about? Are you hiding a celebrity in there?”

“Um,” Yugi considers it shortly. “Kind of. It’s just going to be really surprising for you.”

“Alright…?”

Now that Yugi has Sugoroku’s undivided attention, the situation seems even harder to explain. He didn’t plan out what to say at all, and in his silence, he realizes the only way to go around to just...say it, regardless of how crazy it might sound. 

He takes a breath and opens his mouth at the very same time the door to his room opens.

“Yugi,” Atem says, casually emerging from the bedroom with a wet towel hanging on his hands. “Where should I leave this--”

The world freezes for a moment, the question instantly turning into awkward and unbearable silence; and right when Yugi feels things cannot get any worse, his heart beating slow and uncomfortably loud in the heavy air that hangs between them, Atem finds it the perfect moment to open his mouth.

“I, uh.” He says, nodding his head stiffly at Sugoroku, wide-eyed and awkward but clearly trying to somehow make things better. “Welcome home, mister Mutou.”

Sugoroku faints on the spot, leading Yugi into his second panic attack for the night.

\--

“I’m fine now, I’m fine!” 

“That was _not_ fine, grandpa!” Yugi huffs, his face still red from the flurry of emotions from the past minutes. He sits by his grandfather’s bedside, a first aid kit ready at his lap for any emergency.

Granted, scary as the sudden collapse was, it seemed not to delve into anything too serious-- a couple minutes later, Sugoroku was up and about, assuring Yugi of his health and trying to no avail to ask questions as his grandson hurriedly ushered their strange guest back into his room and Sugoroku to his own, forceful in contrast to his gentler nature. Now that things had calmed down, Sugoroku can only laugh at Yugi’s worry, so disproportionate to the situation.

“Your grandfather has seen worse, you know!” He says, winking. “Though a ghost is kind of a first, I’ll give you that...”

“It’s not a ghost--” Yugi says, but then backtracks, unsure of himself. “--I think.”

Sugoroku blinks, waiting for him to elaborate. Yugi looks down to entertain himself with the kit, mindlessly rearranging the contents to avoid his grandfather’s curious eyes.

“I mean…” He says, quieter, also arranging his own thoughts now that he finally has a chance to reason them out loud. “I thought I’d finally lost it when I first saw him a couple of hours ago, but if you can see him too, I guess there’s no denying he’s really back here in the flesh.” He pauses. “His _own_ flesh, too.”

“Did something happen that’d make him be called out to present time?”

“I already asked, and it looks like he just got a second chance to come back to...live life, I guess.” Yugi shrugs, allowing himself to glance up. “What do you make of that?”

Though Sugoroku looks as surprised as anybody would be, he’s fairly quick to answer, only taking a short moment to hum. 

“There’s not much to make of it, I think.” He tells Yugi. “If he says he’s here to live life that’s that.”

Yugi might have laughed if he weren’t so confused by everything happening around him.

It would probably be easier to choose to believe that and call it a day, but things were never that easy when it came to Atem.

...Then again, a look at his grandfather’s easy smile and solutions is comforting enough for the time being. If he can brush this all off and let events unfold, there’s no reason Yugi couldn’t do so as well for at least a while, right? 

Resignation isn’t the route Yugi would’ve liked, but he can see it’s the easiest to take right now. He breathes a little easier upon seeing so, and gets up from his spot.

“You’re probably right.” He tells Sugoroku, a little more relaxed. “We can just see where this goes as it moves.”

“That’s it, that’s it.” Sugoroku agrees. “I’d go say a proper hello now, but I’m kind of…”

“Yeah, I know.” Yugi says, leaving the kit next to his grandfather’s bed. “I’ll tell him you’ll introduce to each other properly tomorrow, so you should get some rest.”

As Yugi begins leaving the room, he freezes in place as a thought reaches him. He turns to Sugoroku with an alarmed expression. 

“Uh--” He says, nervous. “I think he has nowhere else to go, so maybe--”

“He can stay as long as he’d like!” Sugoroku assures, giving him a lazy thumbs up as he easily cuts off his question. “He already did for quite some time anyway, didn’t he?”

Huh.

That’s right, isn’t it?

It suddenly feels a little silly to have worried at all about it, but Yugi can’t help but feel immensely grateful despite it all; Sugoroku really has no business housing somebody else for free in his property, and much less when Yugi’s parents had moved on, and there was no overlooking that. For the time being, Yugi only smiles wider, waving goodnight after returning the thumbs up.

Once out of the room, he figures he has more explaining to do--Atem must be worried sick about the damage he could’ve caused Sugoroku, or about where he’d be staying or what he was going to do the following day--

\--Or he could be sound asleep in Yugi’s bed, little snores escaping him despite never properly getting under the blankets or even bothering with turning the lights off.

Yugi blinks down at him as he stares, appalled at...what was it, the nerve? The naivety of it all?

He considers waking him up to lead him elsewhere, but then it occurs to him that he’d never really seen a sleeping Atem before. Passed out was one thing--or so deep in thought he could be considered not present, but never just...relaxed enough to sleep.

Yugi leans down to get a closer look, intrigued at the sight. 

Thinking clearly, it makes a lot of sense Atem ended up like this; after all, he’d gotten home before him. How long had he waited under the rain for anybody to get to the shop? And before that, had he walked to get to the shop? Where had he even appeared in the first place, anyway? Had people given him a hard time for his extravagant clothing?

Suddenly, Yugi feels very stupid for not having asked any of this when he had the chance a while back. 

...Ah, well. He could do this in the morning. Or whenever everybody isn’t under the stress of shock and exhaustion, really.

All that was left for him to do was to place a blanket over Atem, grab some fresh clothes and finally get that bath he’d been needing for the entirety of the day.

\--

Yugi’s day ends when he finds himself in his mother’s old bedroom, eyes threatening to close for the night and a note app open in his phone with a blinking line taunting him to start explaining himself to Anzu.

Tired and not entirely on his five senses, Yugi takes a breath and decides to let the words flow, regardless of how crazy he knows it’s going to make him sound. He backtracks to correct himself only a few times, and ends up with a huge paragraph detailing the events of the night about forty minutes later, by this point so exhausted he can’t be bothered to double-check for any repeated words or grammar mistakes.

And in a not totally conscious, last-minute decision, he ends up copying and pasting the message not only into Anzu’s line conversation.

He also pastes it into Jonouchi’s and Honda’s before silencing notifications, setting his alarm for the next day and finally going to sleep.

  
  
  
  



	5. I Spy

It’s something of a miracle that Yugi managed to sleep as soundly as he did, the shrew sound of his alarm cutting into a deep and dreamless darkness.

On one hand, his head was swimming in stressful thoughts and over the near future and the real reasons behind Atem’s sudden reappearance, but on the other, the previous day had been so long and exhausting that the transition between locking his phone and putting his head against his mother’s old pillow had almost been lost into seamless sleep. By the time the next morning comes--a Sunday, his day off, thank everything--, he has trouble remembering he even did anything after showering.

...Except he did after a couple of minutes tossing and turning with the morning’s light, and the vague memory of his mass-text towards his group of friends sends an ice pick through his chest.

On retrospect, that had been a completely stupid idea, hadn’t it?

_‘Hi, I know you’re busy with life, but our dead friend from high school is back!’_

How was anybody supposed to react to news like that on such short notice? And to take it seriously, to top it off?

Yugi sighs very deeply, wishing he could undo last night, sink into the bed and stay there for the rest of the day. Explaining the current situation to his grandfather--and to himself, really—, had taken such a toll on him that the idea of detailing it to more people, even if just over text, was already doing a number on him.

Now there’s today to deal with. The thought of getting out of bed was already sort of daunting on a daily basis, but it’s even harder to pretend to himself that he’s still sleeping when there’s the possibility of Sugoroku forgetting about their new guest and fainting again over it. 

That alone is enough to make him really get up, and as Yugi leaves his phone behind and marches down to the kitchen in the back shop, ready to plan a better introduction after a quick breakfast, he stops dead on his tracks when he sees that that won’t be necessary.

The table for two is already occupied, and Atem is still in those unfitting clothes he’d gotten from Yugi the previous night. An almost untouched cup of coffee sits pretty in front of him as he and Sugoroku sit across each other, immersed into what looks like a very lively conversation. Yugi's mouth falls the slightest bit open with surprise, leaning on the wall as he tries to catch up to their chat. 

Moments later, Sugoroku is the first to notice him, perking up to wave.

“Good morning, Yugi!” He calls, laughing. “Did you see who came over?”

The question pulls a laugh out of Yugi.

“Yeah. I was the one who let him in yesterday, grandpa.”

“Oh!” The man laughs at himself with realization, “Right, right! I’m sorry, boy. You know how things slip by me nowadays.”

“I know.” Yugi gently says, walking over to stand by the table. At this point, Atem has noticed his presence as well and looks on, as if waiting for his turn to greet him. Yugi can’t help but smile a little wider at this as he meekly raises his hand for a short wave.

“Morning.” He tells Atem, “Did you sleep well?”

“Like a rock.” Atem says, his voice shaking with a laugh. “Though I was so tired I didn’t even notice when that happened... I’m sorry for taking over your bed.”

“It’s fine. Mom’s old bed was always the most comfortable around here.”

That makes Atem perk up.

“Right— Mister Mutou was telling me she’s not been around here for a while.”

Yugi nods with a small smile.

“Yeah, but it’s for the best. She hesitated a lot about moving out to a newer apartment with dad, but knowing I’m here with grandpa made things easier for everybody.”

Though Atem nods along, his expression makes it pretty clear he struggles to understand most things he and Sugoroku have been telling him all morning. Nevertheless, Yugi can’t bring himself to feel too troubled by it right away. If what Atem explained last night was anything to go by, they’d have plenty of time to catch him up on the way his current situation works.

“By the way, Yugi,” Suguroku speaks up, momentarily pulling his grandson away from his thoughts. “I think you had a shift at the game shop today, right?”

Yugi’s face falls instantly.

“Oh--right!” He goes, head whipping towards the nearest kitchen appliance with a clock and his voice high with panic. “I totally forgot, sorry! but I think if I go get dressed right now I might as well--!”

“About that!” Sugoroku interrupts, his voice as loud as he can manage to make it, “I was actually thinking you should take today off.”

“Eh-” Yugi stares, frozen seconds before sprinting to his room. He frowns at his grandfather. “No way, today is _your_ day off.”

“Of four a week, boy!” Sugoroku reminds him with a laugh. “Honestly, you help me out so much for free that I might as well just give you the weekends to rest!”

“Grandpa.” Yugi says, a little more serious. “We talked about this, remember?”

Needless to say, poor Atem seems to struggle so much between catching up with the conversation and choosing sides in the argument that he has given up on commenting altogether. Sugoroku seems to notice as much, smiling apologetically at him before countering Yugi’s stern reminder.

“I do, but I also think we could make an exception today.” He says, glancing shortly at Atem. “It’s a nice day outside, you know.”

It’s honestly a hard statement to ignore; with the rainy season at peak, Yugi can’t quite recall when he’d last gotten the chance to feel the warmth of the sun even inside the house. As he hesitates to reply, though, Sugoroku beats him to it, getting up to stretch. The crack of his bones is a little too loud for comfort, but the old man only groans pleasantly at it.

“Mhm, that hits the spot!” He declares, energized and determined to ignore Yugi’s growing concern. He steps away from the kitchen with an easy step. “If you’ll both excuse me, I’m going to open up the store!”

“Grandpa--” Yugi tries one last time, but Sugoroku only winks at him as he passes right by his side.

“You should live a little, Yugi.” He says, “If only for today, okay?”

The words are so cutting and sudden Yugi has no real reply to them save the slight drawback of his hands towards himself, defensive and the tiniest bit tense. Sugoroku chuckles the reaction off with a little pat of Yugi’s shoulder, and he finally excuses himself from the kitchen.

Yugi looks up from what can only be described as a huge burn on Sugoroku’s part to find a blinking and oblivious Atem staring back at him from the table, half a breakfast long forgotten in his plate. 

“Well… he seemed lively enough.” Atem says, trying his hardest not to let silence sink in. “I believe he is to be trusted.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust him, I just--” Yugi replies, but when he realizes he has no real way to justify that claim, he quiets down and sighs. He rubs the back of his neck, still a bit uncomfortable with the outcome of their argument. “I just don’t want him to overwork at all. Who knows when all that energy might trick him into hurting himself.”

Atem nods along, though he seems far calmer about the situation, offering Yugi a reassuring smile.

“I think he’ll be quick to let you know if something really troubles him. Mister Mutou is very wise, after all.”

That makes Yugi chuckle.

“If he hears you calling him that, he’ll never let it go.”

“I’m just being honest.”

As he's always been. Yugi can’t help but feel at ease with just that, and it’s such a familiar feeling he can’t help but allow himself a small smile—Atem has always had this sort of effect on him, it seems. Making the scariest challenges seem easy as long as he’s there to help Yugi through them. It seemed it wasn’t only a matter of the millennium puzzle’s mysterious power, now that it was completely absent.

Embarrassing thoughts aside, Yugi finally lets himself walk around the kitchen to get some coffee. He talks to Atem in the meantime, his tone finally at ease.

“Okay… since it looks like I have the day off, then I guess we could catch up properly now.” He tells him. “Is there anything you’d like to do?”

Atem blinks incredulously at that.

“I get to choose what we do today?”

“What _you_ do,” Yugi reminds him. “We don’t even have to do everything together anymore if you don’t want to, remember?”

Somehow, Atem seems both very intrigued and intimidated by this idea. Yugi catches a glance of his troubled expression and tries hard not to laugh out loud--there is something strangely comforting about seeing the high and mighty Pharaoh so perplexed by the concept of owning a fully functional body and a whole separate life for himself. He could honestly relate, if only for the first year after Atem’s previous departure from his body.

“Too much to start?” Yugi asks, trying to hide a small grin.

“Um.” After deliberating for a bit, Atem nods stiffly. “I think so. I have no idea where I’d go or what I’d do by myself.” 

It’s kind of endearing to see him this lost, honestly, but it’s definitely to be expected; Atem is likely worse off than a tourist when you take in account his nearly eight year old absence in Tokyo and a new corporeal form that he’d been thrown into without much notice. it’s no wonder he’d be a little overwhelmed, and though Yugi is no expert at living for himself just yet, he can at least say he has more experience.

“I guess I could give you a few ideas, then.” Yugi offers, looking up to think. “We could hang out a bit at the train station, maybe… you definitely need to learn how to board and navigate the routes if you want to move freely around the city.”

“...That’d be ideal, yeah.” Atem says, glancing sideways. “It’s very complex.”

It takes Yugi a moment to catch why he’d say that, and the moment it sinks in, he almost snorts.

“Don’t tell me you already got lost riding the train on your way to the game shop?”

Atem suddenly regains interest in his breakfast, taking an excruciatingly long gulp of lukewarm miso soup before answering.

“And a couple of buses.”

\--

“So it’s that way to the station if I want to head back home?”

“Hm, I don’t know... Maybe someone will point us in the right direction if they think we’re cosplayers heading to our venue, huh?”

Atem groans into a hand, annoyance and embarrassment clear in lightly reddened cheeks.

“I really shouldn’t have told you any of that.”

“Yeah, you should’ve kept it to yourself.” Yugi’s grin is good-natured, despite his teasing. He’s given up on helping his expressions to himself, eased up by Atem’s unexpected clumsiness. “Though I guess it makes sense people thought you’d be some foreigner visiting Tokyo for a local convention... Ancient Egypt’s clothing isn’t exactly the norm here.”

“Mhm. A passerby seemed really surprised I spoke good Japanese when I asked him for directions…”

“I’m honestly more surprised you didn’t get mugged or tricked, considering you were covered in gold and all.” 

The conversation flows surprisingly easy despite the tension and heavy emotions that had been hanging over them just the previous day. Yugi figures the sudden burst of confidence may come from Atem showing off some of his brand new humanity in the way of some flaws, and mean as it may be, he’s sort of grateful for them. It makes it a lot more believable that Atem really has come back to become a regular person and not the flawless and ghostly champion he’d always presented himself as.

...Or, thinking of better of it, as flawless as he could manage to be most of the time, anyway. It’s just a nice change for Atem to be allowed mistakes that wouldn’t result in anybody dying or losing their soul to his whims. And it’s also probably for the best that the Millennium Puzzle is long gone by now, despite the longing lack of weight over both his and Yugi’s chests.

They make their way downtown with ease, an inviting and sunny sky overhead. It’s amazing how different it is from the gloomy rain of the past day, but that was probably to be expected of June’s fickle nature. It was almost as if the universe had agreed to make itself as fitting as possible to let Yugi out of the house for something other than groceries or the commute to work.

Though it would probably be more likely that, as usual, this was something meant for Atem and his extraordinary abilities to bend situations towards his own convenience. A glance at the former Pharaoh in his delight at their little trip is the only thing Yugi needs to come to this conclusion; Atem walks much slower than usual, eyes wide at every new sight in the Domino City he used to know so well. While duel monsters still reigned as the top activity to sight-see in the remodeled parks, streets and buildings, the duel disks were much lighter and their projected holograms more life-like than ever. Definitely something to behold for a newcomer.

“Incredible.” Atem says, almost under his breath. He stops on his tracks to points towards an ongoing duel taking place outside a crowded restaurant, clearly meant for a waiting game. “I can even see the monsters breathing as clear as day.” 

The comment pulls an airy chuckle out of Yugi. A few years at Kaiba Corp and the right acquaintances at the programming offices had taught him what a simple mechanic this had turned out to be for every single monster registered in the company’s data bank, but it somehow felt mean to point out. Atem was definitely going to be impressed regardless of the explanation he could offer, but Yugi chooses to only nod along, as if to let his coworkers bask in the compliment they weren’t there to receive.

“Though I must wonder…” Atem suddenly continues, eyes fixed intently in the duel, “What are the orbs surrounding the monster on the left side of the field?”

“Huh?” Yugi tilts his head. “Orbs?”

“Yeah, above the monster. The spinning light surrounding it, is it unique to that particular monster?”

It takes Yugi a moment to find any anomaly in what Atem points out, but it dawns on him when he squints hard enough, suddenly so obvious it’s sort of funny.

“Oh!” Yugi exclaims, triumphant. “You mean the overlay material, right? It looks like it only has one left...”

Atem stares as if Yugi spoke a foreign language.

“...Overlay?”

“Yeah, since it’s an XYZ monster.” Yugi clarifies, but then stops for a moment, realizing Atem was looking even more lost than before. “Wait. Did you get to XYZ summons before, uh…”

Once again, Atem stares. Yugi doesn’t quite know how to process this for a moment; though his current projects didn’t involve dueling in any way, the modern rules of the game are too relevant to everyday life not to at least understand the basics of the current summoning methods. He exchanges bewildered looks with Atem before clearing his throat, surprised.

“Okay, um…” He tries, pressing his hands together to think. “Where were you at with summoning methods? I definitely remember you fusing every now and then.”

Atem’s nod is finally enthusiastic with recognition.

“Yeah-- polymerization. It was one of our favorites.”

“Right,” Yugi goes, trying his hardest not to acknowledge the unnecessarily sentimental comment despite feeling the slightest bit flustered by it, “Okay. And you know rituals too. So a lot more methods were implemented to the game a little after you came over here to help out with the Diva situation...”

“...Okay.” Atem nods along, trying his hardest to keep up. “So a trap or magic triggers the newer methods?”

Oh, he was _very_ far back in the rules. The ‘haven’t-played-since-elementary-school’ kind of far that would come up a few rare folk once every blue moon. Clearly the true loners of the card-oriented Domino City. Yugi can’t help but to laugh shakily at the suggestion--if only it all were as simple as fusion summons.

“No, not really.” He tells Atem, unsure where to start. “There are certain conditions you need to have in your field.”

“Right, for XYZ summons?”

“Yeah, and the same goes for synchro, pendulum and link summoning.”

Atem seems almost intimidated by the names Yugi drops so suddenly.

“ _That_ many methods?”

“That many.” Yugi chuckles. “It’s not that hard to remember once you get used to it during duels, though. It just comes naturally if you have the right setup in your field.”

“How long did it take you?”

“To memorize the methods?” 

The way Atem nods is earnest.

“Yeah. Knowing you, just a few duels, right?”

Oh.

Atem probably expected Yugi to keep their legacy as King of Games alive and well, didn’t he?

Bad news afloat, Yugi looks down.

“I, um. Don’t really duel anymore… I mostly learned because of my job.” He tells Atem, smiling apologetically at the tips of his shoes. It felt strangely taboo to admit this to him, of all people. “I think I haven’t explained yet, but I’m a game developer, not a tester--and not for the duel monsters card game, even. Kaiba Corp has expanded its reach to all kinds of video games that I help plan and conceive.” 

For the first time ever, Yugi doesn’t sound so enthusiastic about his job; it’s almost like he dreads Atem’s reaction to straying from the thing that kept them together--and for his longtime rival, no less.

What he finds when he looks up, though, dreadful of a disappointed expression, turns out to be wide-eyed amazement.

“You’re kidding,” Atem tells him, exhaling through a thrilled little laugh, “You’re working with Kaiba Corp? That’s incredible! You’ve always loved games so much!”

Yugi feels his cheeks heat up instantly, unknowing how to handle the excitement. 

“Y-Yeah, it worked out in my favor, I guess--”

Atem smiles wide and holds on to Yugi’s shoulders--both to contain his excitement and to voice his support all the better.

“Congratulations!” He says, earnest as ever. “I’m so proud and so glad to see you’ve done so well for yourself--even if it is under Kaiba's patronage.”

 _Well_ is a bit of an overstatement on top of the crippling loneliness and the crushing weight of adulthood, but Yugi can’t bring himself to be too negative when Atem is being this nice. He only laughs, nervous at the intent and closeness that keeps happening between them.

“That’s, um...thanks. I’m working hard.” He says, almost in a mumble. “No need to praise me so much about it.”

“I think it’s well-earned.” Atem says, confident. He backs away with that, leaving Yugi just the faintest, slightest bit disappointed for a moment. He initially thinks it’s about the sudden closeness, but it quickly dawns on him that he expected a negative reaction for a reason.

For a moment, Yugi almost wants to reach out with more. Atem _should_ be disappointed he didn’t continue their hard-earned legacy together or ask more about it, right? 

“Look, now.” Atem suddenly says, snapping Yugi away from his thoughts. He was back to giving his full attention to the duel in the restaurant’s entrance, his expression excited. “Did you see the way the monster came into the field with light? And how quickly it was used to bring another one-- was that one of those other summoning methods you were telling me about?”

...Huh.

Maybe--just maybe--, Atem’s words weren’t meant to be taken so seriously. If anyone could be this delighted about the future and so eager for answers, there was no use in dissecting his happiness for Yugi’s successes. Atem was the one person in the world who could be so mindlessly sincere about it.

So Yugi only laughs and nods along.

“Yeah.” He says, “That was a link summon, and I think that player might win soon.”

\--

Yugi’s day off ends up being not so different from a shift at work, after all. 

Then again, anyone could agree that it’s way more entertaining and agreeable to work with an old friend through the mechanics of a game than some moody test-player, or on a particularly important project, none other than the moodiest of them all, Seto Kaiba. 

They, of course, dedicated most of the off-time at the nearest game shop in proximity after the duel they witnessed was over. While Sugoroku was sure to chastise Yugi later for not going to him for free merchandise, Kame Game shop just wasn’t updated with the types of booster packs and binders Atem would need to see if he had any intentions of getting back into duel monsters and play its current format. A few of the older customers- adults in their 30’s, mostly-- had enough of a keen eye to recognize Yugi as a past gaming celebrity despite his modest dressing and shorter hairstyle, and were eager to ask for selfies and handshakes. Atem, with a skintone far too dark and features too sharp to really resemble the old king of games anymore, easily got off the hook as someone who could _really_ pull off the old hairstyle and was mostly relegated to taking pictures and helping Yugi answer questions about duels and old strategies he’d long forgotten how to really retell with the years.

All in all, it had been a fun time. 

Fun enough to forget that, in his anxiety and exhaustion from the previous night, Yugi had never bothered to turn his phone’s sound or notifications on again. He’d remained blissfully unaware of anything that might’ve happened in the outside world; so the sound that greets him and Atem home later that night, moments after Yugi enthusiastically announces their arrival, is all the more surprising:

“Yugi, you huge bastard!!”

It takes absolutely no effort to know this isn’t Sugoroku, but Yugi doesn’t even get a chance to ask anything back; mere moments after he exchanges a look of surprise with Atem, something-- _someone_ \-- quickly stomps down the second floor of the game shop and catches up to the entrance, their steps so heavy they would probably seem crazed to most.

The sound coming down ends up being particularly overwhelming for a reason, though, and it is because this isn’t one, but _three_ people coming down to meet the pair in a rush.

They certainly need no introduction to either Yugi or Atem, but the two of them certainly look as surprised as if strangers had broken in.

Yet they aren’t; never were, and never will be.

They just happen to be three old friends who stare at their missing fourth and the newest old addition to their group, their eyes somehow angry, confused and relieved all at once.

The scruffy, raspy-voiced blonde in the middle of the group steps up first and speaks up once more, his fists hardened and trembling by his side.

“Yugi...” He repeats, his voice as shaky as his hands. “You’ve got some explaining to do!!” 

The demand lingers in the air for one tense moment, and it is all Yugi needs to notice something:

No matter how angry or threatening they want to look, there are hot tears in the corners of both Jonouchi and Honda’s eyes. 

Anzu, on the meantime, wastes no time pretending and covers her mouth with a trembling hand, a choked gasp and then a sob escaping her as soon as her eyes also adjust on who Jonouchi and Honda stare at.

Atem is looking back at all of them, awestruck with silence.

  
  
  
  



	6. Guess Who

Between Anzu’s open little sobs, Jonouchi’s growling glare and Honda’s silent anger, neither Yugi nor Atem know what to react to first. They can only stare at the three people on the other side of the room in shock, stretching the tense and awkward atmosphere of Kame game shop to the breaking point. 

But what is there to say to such a sudden and forceful reunion? 

The wordless question lingers painfully between the five old friends, and Jonouchi gets impatient, deciding to act first despite already having spoken for himself, Anzu and Honda. He starts stepping forcefully towards Atem and Yugi finally remembers how to speak, feeling himself move on impulse to place himself between them.

“--Wait, Jonouchi-kun!”

But as soon as he says as much, he is effortlessly pushed to the side and two things happen, one right after the other:

First, Atem flinches hard and shuts his eyes tight, clearly expecting a punch.

Then, Jonouchi latches on to him so strongly he nearly topples him over.

Honda and Anzu follow suit immediately, their sudden piling so surprising and erratic it soon leaves everyone on the ground except Yugi, who blinks down at the disaster with wide eyes. 

\--

“I already said I was sorry!”

The ruckus had been loud enough to call Sugoroku downstairs, who’d quickly explained a very confused Yugi that after leaving his phone home in favor of his outing with Atem, the shop had been bombarded with worried calls at different hours from all three of his friends over a strange text Yugi had left them. Through the wealthy help of one Arthur Hopkins and right after a heated series of concerned phone calls and texts between all involved parties, Anzu had taken the quickest flight she could’ve booked to Domino, and Jonouchi and Honda had arranged to meet up with Sugoroku to properly ask questions and get to confirm the return of their long lost friend with their very own eyes.

Cut to the current time and place, Yugi’s living room at early nightfall, an all too familiar sight that reminded the group of all of their high school hangouts, Sugoroku finally resting in his room and cheap convenience store snacks and drinks messily arranged in the tiny coffee table with the group sitting around it.

Anzu rolls her eyes at Yugi’s apology, a displeased pout in her face.

“A “sorry” doesn’t cut how bad that little stunt you pulled was, Yugi!” She chides as she pours herself a drink, “Who sends a text _that_ worrying and then proceeds to disappear for an entire day? We were all worried sick about you! I got mine at ten in the morning and I had to go through my whole class wondering if you’d lost your mind!”

The pull Yugi feels towards telling Anzu that he was a bit busy resting from a meltdown to worry over time difference is enormous. Honda is, thankfully enough, quick to also chime in to stop him from doing that.

“Honestly! I almost didn’t see mine since I was already sleeping, so I found out about this whole ordeal through Jonouchi freaking out over the phone on me at midnight.” He gives the blonde an annoyed glance. “Which, by the way, really gave Shizuka a fright, so nice going there. You’re clearly brother of the year.”

“Oh, shut up already with that! How the hell was I supposed to know she was right there?” Jonouchi whines, clearly having heard already of this, “Who else was I gonna go to with Yugi sending me straight to voicemail and Anzu having changed her phone number for like the thousandth time? The one I had written down in my contacts wasn’t working at all!”

“This is just the third time I’ve changed it since I moved, you big baby!”

Honda also takes his chance to reprimand.

“And you already know we’ve been steady for a year, moron, of course she’d be with me!”

“Um-”

Everyone turns to look at Atem, who had spoken for the first time in...a while, really. His usual confidence and bluntness was replaced by the kind of meekness that for once made him resemble Yugi, his shoulders stiff and his hands resting over his knees in tight fists. With all eyes on him, he frowns, seeming almost weary to be the center of attention after the ruthless verbal beatdown Yugi had been getting for ghosting them.

“I’m, uh.” He starts, awkwardly. “Extremely lost. Can we please slow down?”

“Oh!” Anzu clasps her hands together in apology. “Sorry, sorry. We’re probably talking in riddles to you, right?”

Atem nods slowly, to which Jonouchi lets out a hearty laugh.

“Man, gotta see it to believe it! You really did come from the last decade, huh?” He says, grinning. “What part of our chat do you need help with?”

Atem considers it for a moment before speaking up again.

“...All of it?”

This, of course, pulls another laugh out of Jonouchi, which earns him Anzu’s elbow on his ribs.

“Hey, cut it out!” She scolds after her jab, “This isn’t some funny joke, our friend needs us to help him out, not make fun of him!”

“Seriously,” Honda says, resting his face on his hand as he stares at Jonouchi doubling over in pain, clearly grateful to not be on his shoes right now. “I’m surprised you’re still this tactless.”

“Like you’re so mature, asshole! It hasn't even been that long since we last saw each other!” Jonouchi barks back, pained little tears at the corner of his eyes and holding his sides. “Why don’t you get us started in catching up if you’re so high and mighty?”

Yugi glances at Atem to get a word in while he still can.

“Would that help you out?”

“I... think so.” Atem looks at Honda now, tilting his head with sharp and curious eyes. “If that’s alright with you, of course.”

As anybody would’ve expected of him in the past, Honda grins--not unlike Jonouchi, but there’s something a bit more grown-up about his expression. 

“Well, there’s not so much to talk about, but alright!” He says, lightning up. Regardless of how he describes his updates, Honda seems very glad to be able to recall them, his cheery expression contagious as he turns to face Atem. “What do you wanna know?”

“Anything relevant past high school will do. I just want to know how you’ve all been and what you’re up to.”

Honda whistles in contemplation at the tall order, and the rest of the group laugh around him and Atem. He settles with something after a little hum.

“I dunno' if you ever knew through Yugi, but I’ve been told I’d be working in my dad’s place, well--pretty much my whole life,” Honda starts, “Which was kind of a bummer, but I’ve made it work. Turns out I’m pretty good at keeping dummies in place, and that helps you climb up the salaries a lot, so...I’m doing pretty well for myself right now, out of home and all.”

“Come on, you’re going with that as your big accomplishment?” Anzu teases, her grin mischievous. “Shouldn’t you be talking about your, you know, _partnership_?”

Jonouchi groans loudly, and as Yugi and Honda chuckle sheepishly at the mention of this particular detail, Atem only blinks, left out of the secret. It takes him just a short moment and minimal amount of context clues to figure it out, though, his mouth parting slightly as he does.

“...I do recall you mentioning Shizuka a bit ago.” He points out. His guess manages not only to get Jonouchi to groan harder, but for Honda’s cheeks to color considerably, his smile sheepish and goofy.

“Yeah... It’s been a while.”

Short but significant memories rush in at the confirmation; it makes too much sense, honestly, considering Honda’s protectiveness and adoration of the redheaded girl from the moment she was a regular part of the friend group-- so much so that It had been evident even to Atem’s limited presence. In a time of change and adaptation, it was nice to see the kind of development he could trace back himself, so clear and so right within his knowledge and memory. 

So Atem smiles warmly at this, either oblivious or doing a very good job of ignoring Jonouchi’s discomfort with the situation. 

“I’m glad to know your feelings were reciprocated at the end.” Atem tells Honda, his voice as earnest as ever. “I’m sure the two of you must be happy.”

What should’ve closed the topic, however, lingers with a rather unexpected response at Atem’s praise: more chuckling on everybody save Jonouchi, who rolls his eyes before Honda nervously corrects Atem.

“It’s not just the two of us, actually.”

Atem only blinks, and Honda elaborates, his cheeks red.

“So, like…” He starts, a little nervous. “Okay, was polyamory a thing in ancient Egypt?”

“Oh!” Atem yelps, a little higher than he would’ve liked to. He amends himself by clearing his throat, pretending not to hear Anzu, Yugi and now even Jonouchi’s laughs at his reaction. He gives Honda a nervous smile.

“Yes, that’s--it _was_ a thing, as far as I remember,” He clarifies, tripping slightly over his words. The important men of the communities and their many concubines come to mind the easiest, so Atem goes from there, partly aware this was an outdated example. “So I take it you have more partners?”

“Just one more!” Honda exclaims; everyone else has dissolved into even louder laughter, exchanging jabs at Honda’s charm being so off the charts he’d surely gotten _more_ people under his spell during their time not talking. Surely the spiky pompadour-- a comment Honda takes with enough offense to shush them, red-faced from annoyance and embarrassment alike. 

All teasing aside, Atem makes sure to address Honda once more to voice his support, his grin easy and his understanding clear as day as the rough playfight settles down.

“Well, whatever made this situation happen, I’m happy it did. Your partners are very lucky to have you.”

As usual, Atem’s honesty seeps through his voice, making Honda even more red-faced. He laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Aw, thanks…” His smile turns a little smaller. “I might as well tell you--you know the other guy too. I’ll let you take a wild guess.”

_Guy?_

Guy…

It takes Atem a few moments to figure it out, his eyes widening.

“Otogi?”

Anzu claps in delight at the correct guess, and Jonouchi finally contributes to the conversation with something other than whining or looks of indifference, preluding himself with yet another annoyed groan.

“Yeah, _that_ asshole!” He exclaims, “As if it weren’t weird enough to think of my sister going out with a guy that might as well be my brother…imagine! She’s also living with someone who’s _surrounded_ by guys and girls alike all the time, it drives me nuts!”

“I really wish you’d stop talking about him like that. I’m also dating him, you know.” Honda says, and while Anzu nods along to this sentiment, Yugi chuckles lightly.

“I honestly think he’s just still sore about the whole dog-suit thing…”

Hell breaks loose once more, and the talk dissolves once more into teasing and messing about. Atem doesn’t get to input a lot of his trademark knowing commentary the way he often does with just Yugi, but he’s far from left out of the fun, laughing and effortlessly soaking in the familiar yet new atmosphere that stays in the room. It takes Honda and Jonouchi nearly suplexing each other over the coffee table before Yugi finally sees fit to get between them, mediating as per usual.

“Anyway!” He exclaims, grinning at his friends, “Anybody else wanna come forward with their updates before the living room gets turned into a wrestling arena?” 

“Me, please!” Anzu says, enthusiastically raising her hand. Her reddened cheeks and a peppier tone than usual suggest the drinks have slightly gotten to her already, but there’s enough confidence in her eyes to trust she’s not going to be spilling any secrets or unnecessary drama any time soon. Her American lifestyle and friendships had clearly gotten her used to this type of hangout, and though Atem can’t tell any of that the way everyone else can, he sort of has an idea of what she’s about to say, his look expectant.

“I’m assuming the dancing went well.” He says, earning a huge grin from her.

“That’s it in a nutshell, yeah!” She confirms, giddy. “But if you want the detailed version, I’ve been living in New York ever since I graduated. After I was done settling in, work started with the dancing program I managed to enroll in, a part-time job to pitch in for the extra classes and groceries, then I started going to auditions…” She sighs. “God, most of it afterwards was auditions, now that I think about it.”

Atem nods along, fascinated.

“Wasn’t it hard living alone over there?”

“Well… I wasn’t _totally_ alone, if I’m honest.” She tells him, grinning. “Remember the Hopkins?”

“Arthur and Rebecca?”

“Right,” Anzu laughs lightly. “Turns out Rebecca’s new job happened to be in New York as well, so when I arrived in the city, Mr. Hopkins offered to help me out with my classes if I agreed to room with her.”

Jonouchi snorts.

“Not for nothing, but it almost sounds like he was paying you to put up with her.”

“He was, though!” Anzu says, “She was such a nightmare when we started living together— since she was fresh off her internship at that weird Duel Academy place of Kaiba’s, she was home all the time having these loud meetings all day long, leaving her stuff everywhere and hardly doing her part with chores…she’s definitely better nowadays, but I heard she was really mad I left for Domino without her, so I’m expecting chaos on the way back. She probably threw a party yesterday night or something to get back at me for that.”

Atem discreetly leans over to Yugi as Anzu rants about Rebecca’s poor housekeeping habits, his brows furrowed in confusion and his voice a whisper.

“Kaiba owns a Dueling Academy?” 

“Oh, yeah.” Yugi says, just as quiet. “It’s also on a remote island, for some reason.”

Atem stares.

“A Dueling Island Academy.”

Yugi shrugs.

“Yeah—don’t ask. We don’t get it either.”

Atem nods, somehow looking even more confused than before. Right in time for Anzu to wrap up her complaining, too, her attention back to him.

“So yeah, it’s not as scandalous as _two partners_ , but I’m getting gigs now! It’s a lot of hard work once rehearsals get started, you know.”

“You seem happy, though.” Atem notes, smiling. “And that’s what matters—It’s good to hear Rebecca and Mister Hopkins are doing well too.”

“Yeah, I’d say it’s not a bad situation at all.” Anzu winks, playing off her hard work and life’s worth of effort and savings as if it were something she just happened to walk into. She makes it sound so easy, really— as if grasping one’s dream was something anyone could do, and Atem nearly misses the way her refreshing smile turns devilish and her eyes shift to Jonouchi, already willing to take the spotlight off herself.

“Which leaves us with one more present to discuss,” Anzu announces, pointing at Jonouchi accusingly, “Am I right, mister?”

“Y’know what they say—leave the best for last!” Jonouchi laughs; something only Yugi is nice enough to back up with a small smile. The blonde grins big at Atem.

“Yugi told you he’s not in the dueling scene anymore, right?” He asks, itching to elaborate. Even if Atem hadn’t heard, he wouldn’t have dared to delay Jonouchi’s excitement more, so he simply nods, smiling expectantly. Jonouchi almost _giggles—_ yes, _giggles—-_ at the quick response.

“Well!” Jonouchi announces, loud and clear, “Guess who did stay—and I also want you to guess who is the current King of Games, man! Your only hint is that they’re the same person!”

Atem’s mouth parts instantly.

“No way-”

“Yes way! _Absolutely_ yes way!” Jonouchi interrupts, pride and confidence booming in his voice as he points to himself, “This bad boy has been hard at work ever since school ended! My deck was on its first tour around the country last year!”

“Are we really skipping over the first few years of disastrous tournaments, though?” Honda teases, grinning wide, “When people online were just _begging_ you to get rid of the time wizard and all those cards including chance so you could finally start winning some duels?”

Jonouchi’s eye twitches at this, and Anzu laughs heartily, beating him to the punch.

“Yeah, yeah!” She adds, “Tell the story right, Jonouchi. It’s not that you’re just the King of Games, period. Don’t you feel bad about lying?”

“I-It ain’t lying if I’m not making stuff up!!” Jonouchi yells, red-faced, looking at Yugi for mercy. 

Unfortunately for him, Yugi’s smile is apologetic.

“It’s called lying by omission when you don’t tell the _whole_ truth, Jonouchi-kun.”

“Lying about what, exactly?” Atem asks, blinking towards Jonouchi. The blonde sighs in defeat, though he doesn’t seem as down as he should. He even laughs a bit at himself, finding some optimism for his long-lost friend and mentor.

“Well… I’m the reigning Goat Champ, is all.”

At this point, instead of asking anything, Atem only needs to look at Yugi for an explanation. He laughs lightly, noticing all eyes on him now.

“Goat format is what people call the duel monster’s card game before all the new rules and summoning methods I explained earlier. Pretty much how it was by the time you were around.” 

“Meaning Jonouchi wouldn’t stand a chance against a modern-day player!” Honda adds, earning himself not only Anzu and Yugi’s restrained laughter, but some extra roughhousing on Jonouchi’s part, who has him in a headlock almost as soon as the words are out of his mouth, soon to be turned into choking and sputtering out mock insults and attempts to overpower his attacker.

Needless to say, the scene playing before Atem is so effortlessly fun and familiar he really doesn’t see any need to comment on it any further, his praise and pride far too obvious in his expression and laughter to let Jonouchi know of it. He could always do it later anyways, as this was clearly not the moment for earnest pleasantries.

All in all, Atem’s moment would have to wait-- it wasn’t like he had any updates to give from his own time away, after all. As a mortal, any clear experience or knowledge of the Field of Reeds wasn’t meant to follow him along for too long.

Being a spectator is no news to him, and it wasn’t starting anytime soon.

\--

Some more play fighting, a stressed Sugoroku and many drinks later, the old group of friends are but passed out at Yugi’s living room; Jonouchi’s snoring would probably keep everybody up if not for the exhaustion of their reunion and a looming Monday the very next morning.

The only one who can find it to actually stay awake is the fortunately jobless Atem, who blinks up at the ceiling in contemplation. Despite being the one on the receiving end of so much information and activities, his mind remains restless and eager and his thoughts dance around for hours, wondering and processing everything he’s been told in just the span of the day.

“Psst.”

The clear but quiet sound comes from the couch just above him, making sit up slowly. He can’t help but smile slightly as he’s met by Yugi’s sleepy grin.

“Aren’t you tired?” He asks Atem, midway yawning. Atem laughs as quietly as he can manage before shaking his head.

“That would be you,” He says, “So please don’t mind me. I know you’re all busy tomorrow.”

“I know, I’ll go back to sleep in a bit...I just realized I’m not sure what you’re gonna do while I’m at work.”

"I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out."

"Yeah, but-"

“Leave that to me, Yugi.”

The two of them turn, surprised, to find that the third whisper cutting into the conversation is none other than Anzu’s, who was thought long asleep in the remaining couch of the room. Even in the dark, it’s easy to tell that she’s winking.

“But wait--aren’t you going back to America tomorrow?” Yugi asks, embarrassed to not have noticed her, “And your rehearsals…"

“It’s okay, I came prepared. I’m actually leaving on Tuesday” Anzu assures, “Mr. Mutou said I could stay with you guys, so I can help out over here.” She smiles at Atem, excited. “So you and I can hang out as much as we want tomorrow, see?”

That much does reassure Atem, who finds himself easily smiling back. Truth be told, there was a certain ease to one-on-one interactions with Anzu, who he actually managed to get a lot of non card-related bonding with before his passing, and was generally much more empathic and amiable than Honda or Jonouchi, familiar and fun as they may be. His carefreeness comes on effortlessly when he talks back to her.

“That sounds good to me.”

“Then it’s settled--and you, Yugi.” She says, turning to him. “We were talking with Mr. Mutou earlier, and we all think you know who could help us put Atem back in touch with society for good.”

Yugi stares at her for a moment, and when it hits him, his eyes go wide.

“You don’t mean--”

“Anyway, I’m going back to sleep.” Anzu interrupts, doing a little wave at the two of them, not allowing Yugi a chance to protest. “Don’t stay up too late, okay? I’m definitely going to hear.”

“Um, sure...” Yugi says, quickly and utterly defeated. “Goodnight.”

And once she turns for good, Atem waits for an explanation. Upon getting none, he speaks up.

“...Who was she talking about?”

Yugi doesn’t say anything for one long moment, and Atem narrows his eyes.

“...Aibou?”

“Please don’t pull the aibou card-” Yugi says, almost too quickly and with embarrassment apparent in his voice, “You’ll see when you have to, okay? Let's just sleep for now.”

It takes Atem a lot not to laugh, but he somehow manages, opting to finally close his eyes.

“Okay, understood.” He says, gently laying back down. “I’ll try to get some sleep.”

Yugi nods at the ceiling, his eyes more open than ever.

“Yeah, same here…”

With that, Jonouchi’s snoring takes over as the main sound in the room once more, and Yugi is now the one who remains wide-awake, his anxiety clutching away at his chest with many impending thoughts and worries.

Anzu was right. He hadn't really thought about it just yet among the million other personal things eating away at his worries for Atem's revival, but there was one person who definitely needed to know of Atem’s return--not only because of his involvement with Atem’s role in his previous time among them, but because of their--relationship? If that could be called? It seemed unfair to leave him in the dark, somehow.

And the fact that he could be able to pull a few strings that could allow Atem easy access to a job or education, whichever came to be needed first, was nothing to sneeze at, either.

He sighs at the ceiling when he's sure nobody is hearing him anymore.

Hopefully, Seto Kaiba’s reaction at a chance to interact with his lifelong rival once more wouldn’t be as world-shattering as last time.


End file.
